Wei Hung Chen is one of 12 finalists in this year’s fifth edition of the Parsons x Kering Empowering Imagination design competition, a program that grants its two winners a two-week trip to the Kering facilities in Italy, including the Kering Materials Innovation Lab.

Chen hails from Taichung, Taiwan. In his final year at Parsons, he developed a system of modularized garments that enables different components to work across the whole collection. Chen sees his thesis collection as a way to add variety to a wardrobe, claiming the seven modular pieces can create up to 30 different looks. With so many options, the wearer is less likely to get bored. Clothes with longer life spans could potentially cut down on the waste that’s built into today’s fast-fashion market. With two sponsorships from Luxottica (eyewear) and The Shoe Polytechnic (footwear), he’s also created accessories to complement his modular system.

Check back daily to learn about his fellow finalists.

When did you know you wanted to become a designer?I realized this was the career path I wanted the moment I discovered how big of an impact designers have on crafting and improving one’s lifestyle.

Do you have a designer icon?Heatherwick Studio and Nendo are two product design studios that have had a big influence on my design identity. Every project they propose showcases thorough investigation and experimentation of the chosen topic. I believe understanding and investigating your topic is one of the most important aspects of being a designer.

How do you describe your design aesthetic?My interest in product design means practicality is an important aspect when it comes to creating a collection. As I want my wearers to be able to function freely and feel comfortable in my clothes, I approach design by creating a system of garments, and constantly evolve the system to address issues of functionality.

Tell me about your graduation project.My thesis collection is a result of attempting to solve a problem: waste. No matter how much the fashion industry tries to be environmentally aware, it’s profit oriented, which means one is still trying to sell more in order to earn higher revenue. At the end of the day, we create enormous amounts of waste. What can be done to resolve this issue is a constant question in my mind. Being a fashion designer isn’t as simple as creating a fantasy; it’s about raising awareness around this ongoing crisis and possibly resolving it.

Discovering Xu Bing’s meticulous investigations of language has influenced how I approach this issue. By applying his method of dissecting and reassembling language—seen in his books A Book From the Sky, English Square Word Calligraphy, and Book From the Ground—to fashion design, I’ve found new ways to create garments and new methods of wearing clothes.

Making garments modular can maximize a garment’s interchangeability, and using a variety of closures can enhance this idea. Imagine a skirt that can be taken apart to become part of your coat, or if two coats can be taken apart and reassembled into one. This allows the wearer to constantly experiment and play with her garments. Interchangeability will lengthen a garment, allowing it to live beyond seasons and fixed time. Hopefully this can help reduce waste in the fashion industry in the long run.

What would you like to be doing a year after graduation?The beauty of graduating is that it’s a new beginning, and I am open to new challenges.